First snakehead

[J.A. Veil]

John Foley invited me to share a charter trip with him fishing with Capt. Mike Starrett on Capt Mike's aluminum boat with front and rear casting decks. We left from Slavins ramp at 3:30 pm and headed upstream on the Mattawoman. The tide was falling. We fished some areas with pads in front of grasses using weedless plastic frogs. John had a few quick snakehead bites but did not stay hooked up. I drew first blood by hooking and boating a small (~20") snakehead -- my first ever.

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We continued upstream and fished shorelines with poppers. The bite was slow -- I caught one small LMB in over an hour of casting. The tide continued dropping, then stopped. It seemed to stay slack for a long time -- the bite was slacked off too. John and I made many good casts to productive looking areas but had no responses. John later caught a nice LMB that hit his lure nearly at boatside.

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As dusk arrived, the tide began flowing back in, and we saw more fish moving around in the shallows. We each hooked another fish or so, but the bite was not strong last night. We were very fortunate with the weather -- serious storms were on either side of us, but were stayed in the clear except for a few minutes of light rain.

I have never been out in the marshes at night before. I really felt like I was out in the wildnerness with all the insects, frogs, and birds making noise. Despite the slow bite, I had a great time and was happy to catch my first snakehead.

[Nitefly]

Congrats John! I love the Mattawoman not only as a great fishery, but also as a beautiful escape. So far catching Snakehead is the most entertaining fishing I have done. My wife enjoyed eating it so much that she is eager to send me out for more. Did you eat yours? And would you recommend Capt Mike?

[J.A. Veil]

Congrats John! I love the Mattawoman not only as a great fishery, but also as a beautiful escape. So far catching Snakehead is the most entertaining fishing I have done. My wife enjoyed eating it so much that she is eager to send me out for more. Did you eat yours? And would you recommend Capt Mike?

Capt Mike filleted the fish in the dark -- I used the flashlight feature on my cell phone to provide a little light, but he was prepared to do it in the dark. I can certainly recommend Capt Mike and his new business partner Capt Dave. Capt Dave and his two clients fished near us all evening yesterday and had similar success. Capt Mike is knowledgeable, likeable, and entertaining. He provides all the tackle and good instruction.

I plan to cook the snakehead for dinner tonight.

[bignose]

If the mosquitos were anything like I remember, you probably feel like you need a blood transfusion.
Congratulations on adding to your "new" species list.

[J.A. Veil]

If the mosquitos were anything like I remember, you probably feel like you need a blood transfusion.
Congratulations on adding to your "new" species list.

I was really surprised, but we had no bug problems at all on the water -- and it was not particularly windy.

[jffoley]

Good fishing with you again, John! Congrats on your first Potomac Pike! That first hour was busy with several good blowups! And not the pesky largemouth bass type!

Glad you had an enjoyable experience. Always great learning from a pro like Capt. Mike. Hope you enjoyed the cooked fillets! Ya gotta tell us how you prepared them!

John

P.S. That place is magical when you consider you're only 25 some miles from DC and some major urban areas!!

[Shady]

Congrats on the first Snake! I say Capt. Mike's post about your trip on Pierandsurf and said "Hey! I know those guys!"

[J.A. Veil]

Hope you enjoyed the cooked fillets! Ya gotta tell us how you prepared them!

I am not a very imaginative chef and don't enjoy elaborate cooking - I keep things simple. I dumped some Italian salad dressing in the ziplock bag with the fillets to let them marinate. When ready to cook, I placed olive oil on a baking pan, added the fillets, then sprinkled some Old Bay on top. I baked at 350 for a few minutes, then turned on the broiler for another few minutes.

My wife is somewhat fussy about how her fish is cooked -- she really liked the snakehead done this way.